Journal of Educational Controversy

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Monday, December 19, 2016

With
the 2016 election behind us and inauguration day right around the corner, schools are seeing the Trump Effect continue to be a present issue in their
schools, classrooms, and communities.

The Southern Poverty Law Center has performed another
online survey following the results of the November 2016 election in an attempt
to gauge the mood of educators and students in our country. More than 10,000
teachers, counselors, administrators and others who work in schools responded
and, “The survey data indicate that the results of the election are having a
profoundly negative impact on schools and students.”

Ninety percent of respondents reported that the election
results negatively impacted school climate and they believe that the effects
will be long lasting. Eighty percent of respondents described concerns and
heightened anxiety for students and families. Teachers reported that the issues
they were describing were new and growing, “I have seen open racism, spoken,
for the first time in 23 years of teaching.” stated a middle school teacher in
Michigan. Another middle school teacher in Wisconsin stated, “I have never
directly encountered race-related harassment in our school until after the
election this year.” Most of these educators are reporting tension and fear
among their students. Nearly 1,000 teachers reported fearing deportation, and
family separation “as a concern among students.” Targeting and harassment has
increased. A middle school counselor in Florida reported troubling events, “In
a 24-hour period, I completed two suicide assessments and two threat of
violence assessments for middle school students. This was last week, one week
after the election... students were threatening violence against African
Americans. Students were suicidal and without hope. Fights, disrespect have
increased as well.” A kindergartner in Tennessee asked her teacher, “Are they
going to do anything to me? Am I safe?” Communities are experiencing divisions
opened by the election.

There
were a small number of exceptions to the overwhelming responses of negative
effects following the election. There was a very small minority of reports from
teachers that there was little impact on their students or schools following the
election. Students at a high school in Alabama stated that “regardless of who
won, we are still in this country together and we will make the most of it.
They really did not see that whoever won would make a difference in their
lives.” A high school teacher in Idaho reported, “They reacted, but they moved
on faster than the adults are.” Other schools that were able to report little
impact in their communities reported that they had worked hard to establish
“inclusive welcoming communities”. One California high school teacher reported
that, “The students were devastated by the election results, as were most of
our faculty and staff members. However, the darkness of the election brought us
all closer together and in a positive and proactive way!”

The study detailed in this report
was not scientific. Over 10,000 people responded to this survey and submitted
over 25,000 comments. All participants of this study chose to participate. The
results show a disturbing nationwide problem highlighted in the report as the
following:

• Nine out of 10 educators who responded have seen a
negative impact on students’ mood and behavior following the election; most of
them worry about the continuing impact for the remainder of the school year.

• Eight in 10 report heightened anxiety on the part of
marginalized students, including immigrants, Muslims, African Americans and
LGBT students.

• Four in 10 have heard derogatory language directed at
students of color, Muslims, immigrants and people based on gender or sexual
orientation.

• Half said that students were targeting each other based on
which candidate they’d supported.

• Although two-thirds report that administrators have been
“responsive,” four out of 10 don’t think their schools have action plans to
respond to incidents of hate and bias.

• Over 2,500 educators described specific incidents of
bigotry and harassment that can be directly traced to election rhetoric. These
incidents include graffiti (including swastikas), assaults on students and
teachers, property damage, fights and threats of violence.

• Because of the heightened emotion, half are hesitant to
discuss the election in class. Some principals have told teachers to refrain
from discussing or addressing the election in any way.

Friday, December 9, 2016

We are
passing on information about an article from today’s Washington Post that may be of interest to our readers.

The article
discusses the usual concerns raised about book censorship in schools, but of particular
interest, is a quote from a teacher defending the teaching of Huckleberry Finn
despite concerns over its use of racial slurs.In “The Top 10 Books Most Challenged in Schools and Libraries,” the
teacher provides an additional defense for teaching the novel in this new “Age of Trump.”

Quote from English
teacherPeter Greene’s
blog, Curmudgucation, that appeared in the article:

But in 2016,
as we enter the Age of Trump, there’s another reason we have to keep teaching
these works. Call it the gaslighting defense.

Because
among the many things that Trump has elevated further into the mainstream, we
have the 6-year-old’s defense. “I never did that!” We are now taking denial to
new heights with a president-elect who is willing to declare that he never said
that which we have him on tape saying.

Among the
many things I’m braced for is the gaslighting of America, the attempt to talk
our way out of past offenses with a determined, “I don’t know what you’re so
upset about. That never happened.”

…And so to
all the other defenses of classic literature, let’s make sure we’ve included
the idea of gaslight protection, the necessity of reminding ourselves that,
yes, this stuff did happen, and yes, it was bad, really bad, and, no, people
aren’t just making it up for political leverage. The best antidote to gaslighting
is reality, even if that reality is ugly and hurtful. It’s our job as educators
to make sure that we aren’t just dropping the ugly reality on our students like
a pile of railroad ties; we’re supposed to be right there to supply context and
support and reassurance that, yes, this was just as wrong as you think it is
even as we revisit our past through the eyes of authors who also knew that this
treatment was wrong.

Yes, Huck
Finn is a problematic text for many reasons. But it’s also the first real
attempt to create a truly American novel, and consequently its problems are a
reflection of America’s problems, from the ugly racism of slavery to the
subtler racism of folks who believed they were anti-racism. But for me, that’s
why in this day and age teaching it is more important than ever — to say, “Yes,
this happened, and this is how we were, and don’t let anyone tell you
different.

We are
thinking about publishing an issue of the Journal of Educational Controversy on
the theme: “Educating Citizens in the Age of Trump.”If you have any ideas on the sub-topics for
such an issue, pass them on to us.

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Purpose of our Blog

This blog is an extension of the Journal of Educational Controversy.It aims to promote a conversation between educational professionals and the general public in a pluralistic, democratic forum. Its main purposes are to:

1.Enable authors whose articles were published in the journal to update their ideas.

2. Inform readers of current controversies in education.

3. Announce future issues of the journal and events associated with the journal.